Multi-Man, the Challengers best-known nemesis, returns in Challengers of the Unknown #15 (June 1960). In this issue he dies in an explosion in his jail cell and is re-born with super-strength and super-invulnerability. The Challengers manage to douse him again with the antidote that takes away his power one last time. Then a native jabs […]
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In Challengers of the Unknown #14 (April 1960), our heroes get a new long-standing nemesis: Multi-Man. Mult-Man starts out as Duncan Pramble, an archaeologist’s assistant who steals away and drinks “liquid light” while on an expedition with the Challs. Now every time he dies, he is resurrected with a new random power – how convenient. […]
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The personality of the Challengers start to develop a bit more by Challengers of the Unknown #11 (Oct 1959), with Red making an “ape” crack about Rocky, and Rocky threatening Red. Before the Challengers, you didn’t really have team members giving each other the business and having hot tempers like this. Of course, the Fantastic […]
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In Challengers of the Unknown #5 (October 1958), the Challs face off against Vreedl, a member of a safari that manages to get ahold of sacred stones that bestow super-powers and somehow manages to always keep one step ahead of our heroes until the end. He shoots and manipulates fire, he gains the power of […]
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In Challengers of the Unknown #4 (August 1958), it’s hard not to see Jack Kirby angling towards complex, fantastical world-building alongside and team-building between characters, as the Challengers find themselves traveling through time in a scientist’s “time cube”. Very Fantastic Four! And what I love the most are those giant, single-page splashes, like this one […]
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In February 1958, the Challengers gain their own book with Challengers of the Unknown #1. In it, they take on a mad scientist who invents a teleporting ray to steal technology. He ends up kidnapping June Walker, who is called both an honorary member of the Challengers and “one of our most highly-regarded young scientists”. […]
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In Showcase #12 (Nov 1957), the Challengers are starting to feel like a well-seasoned team, complete with villainous Jack Kirby characters like Karnak the beret-wearing criminal and his “gang of international espionage agents”. Being pursued by the Challs, Karnak lands on an island where he discovers an archaeologist who had uncovered the secrets of an […]
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In November 1956, DC introduced a new group of heroes in Showcase #6: The Challengers of the Unknown. Most folks credit Jack Kirby in some way with the creation of this group, which consisted of four daredevils: Rocky Davis, Prof Haley, Red Ryan and Ace Morgan who, after miraculously and inexplicably surviving a plane crash […]
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January 1956 brings a new DC mag called “Showcase” to the stands. Showcase’s ostensible concept was to feature requested stories from readers in a “try-out” period. This first issue features stories about a regular fireman called “Fireman Farrell”. Later, of course, Showcase very soon would be used to feature new superheroes like the Challengers of […]
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